Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), says he’s not only worried about mass layoffs and other effects of an economic slowdown due to coronavirus — he’s also concerned that a House bill offering federally funded paid sick leave could lead to “incentivizing people to not show up for work,” according to USA Today.
“You have to think this thing through in terms of what are the unintended consequences of good intentions,” Johnson said.
“People are going to have to work. People do need to recognize the fact that this is not Ebola. This is not MERS. It’s not quite the seasonal flu,” Johnson added. “But we have to keep things in perspective and we got to keep our economy.”
In an interview on radio station WTMJ’s “Steve Scaffidi Show,” on March 16, Johnson said “Nancy Pelosi is going to make businesses give paid leave when people aren’t working. The businesses are going to pay for that.”
Johnson signaled his opposition to a House bill passed on Saturday to deal with the COVID-19 epidemic that has the support of President Donald Trump.
On WTMJ, he suggested that the Treasury Department might be able to act independently to deal with the economic impact of the pandemic.
